Unreal actions and actors

Allan Curry un824 at FREENET.VICTORIA.BC.CA
Fri Jul 11 17:38:41 CDT 1997


Dear Anand,

>  Several problems here. Brahman is not just a passive, inert entity. It
>  is Infinite Bliss/Happiness. What maayaa can offer is only limited
>  happiness, limited by many factors such as time, space, etc. Inherently,
>  we seek eternal happiness without any restrictions/limitations. That is
>  why the Chhaandogya upanishhad says:
>
>   naalpe sukhamasti
>
>   There is no happiness in that which is small. There is no point in
>   going after small things. We are not little boys anymore, when we
>   were happy with little things. :-)
>

I wasn't suggesting we "go after" illusions (big or small), I suggested
enjoying the "illusoriness of the illusory". Big difference there. Seeing
the falsity of the false can be part of waking up to the truth of the
truth. I was just being silly describing Brahman as "boring" for which I
apologise (I didn't expect to be taken too seriously there...  :-)


>   All happiness in the phenomenal world is finite and limited. What we
>   are looking for is happiness that is desha-kaala-aadi-anavachchhinna ,
>   not limited by space, time, etc. We want be happy wherever we go, and
>   we want to be happy all the time. And we want the happiness to never
>   end. Even Bill Gates can't get that kind of happiness here!
>

Little problem here... if the "we" who wants happiness unlimited by space,
time, etc. is a "we" who *is* limited by space, time, etc. then such
unlimited happiness could easily be drop-dead fatal when it arrives. When
unlimited happiness exists then "we" might not and vice versa. Do we
*really* want unlimited happiness if it means losing our life (as we have
known it)?  This is a serious question we should ask ourselves before we
ask for moksha too loudly. We should ask it and answer "YES!"  (IMO)
There are some good Christian allusions to this kind of death and the
desirability of seeking it as opposed to trying (in vain!) to maintain our
illusory life, but sadly, most "born-again" people seem to have skipped over
the dying part!   :-)


>  By all means, worship Shiva. He will lead you to a Guru.
>

I confess to having a completely irrational attraction to Shiva. When an
illusion wants itself to be dispelled more than it wants to *seem* to be,
then Shiva (the Destroyer) seems exactly right for the job...

>>Brahman (the Real) does not act, (not once, not ever) and all actions and
>> all actors are unreal. Is this really the position of Advaita Vedanta
>
>  You are right.

aaahh... this is really delicious and unreal, unreal, unreal !!!

OM NAMAH SHIVAYA

P.S.

Looking at my screen just now and repeating to myself (ecstatically :-)
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA, a very small, bright blue light appeared in the region
between and in front of my eyebrows. I often see this in similar contexts.
About the only mention I've ever read about this was in the early pages
of Poonja's latest book "Only Truth Is" or whatever the heck it was called.
He didn't say much, objecting that he didn't want the questioner to get
a swelled head or something to that effect. Can anyone tell me about this
blue light?... (I'm just curious, my head's already big enough) Don't tell
me about Muktananda either, I already know what he says about it.



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